Cellphone with contoured surfaces

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a housing for a portable handheld electronic device such as a cellphone. The device has a housing, having a left side and right side. At least one of the left side and right side is provided with integral surface features or surface structures to enhance gripping the cellphone, preferably along the entire length of the phone or within about the top half or one third of the phone.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO ANY PRIORITY APPLICATIONS

Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claimis identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the presentapplication are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 CFR 1.57.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cellphones have increased in capability and have now evolved intoso-called smartphones. These mobile phones are built on a mobilecomputing platform, with more advanced computing ability andconnectivity than a typical cellular phone. The first smartphones weredevices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digitalassistant (PDA) and a mobile phone or camera. Modern models alsoincorporate the functions of portable media players, digital still andvideo GPS navigation units and additional electronic capabilities.

Today's smartphones typically also include high-resolution touchscreens,web browsers that can access and properly display standard web pages,and high-speed data access via Wi-Fi and mobile broadband links.Application programming interfaces (APIs) on smartphones allowthird-party applications to better integrate with the phone's operatingsystem and hardware, while cellphones more commonly run on proprietaryfirmware. A variety of operating systems power conventional smartphones,including Android™, iOS™, and Windows® Phone (Android™ is a trademark ofGoogle Inc., iOS™ is a trademark of Cisco Systems used under license byApple Inc., and Windows® is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation). Theconfluence of consumer electronic devices and capabilities continues.

Despite the significant advances in hand held electronic devices, thephysical form of these devices has seen little evolution. Most areshaped like a more or less smooth brick with increasingly smooth front,back and side surfaces. This configuration can easily slip from the handof the user, and risk damaging the phone with potential loss of valuabledata as well as hardware. Some aftermarket removable covers have beenproposed, but such covers add bulk and weight and otherwise fail toprovide an elegant solution.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Some of the inventions disclosed herein provide a housing for a handheldmobile electronic device such as a cellphone, having a modified surfacewith ridges or contours to enhance traction and resist slipping of thehousing in a user's hand.

In accordance with one aspect of at least one of inventions disclosedherein, there is provided a cellphone having enhanced grip surfacestructures. The cellphone includes a body, having a left side, a rightside, a front surface with a display and a rear surface. At least one ofthe right side and left side is provided with enhanced gripped surfacestructures comprising at least two laterally projecting extensionsdefining a concavity therebetween.

Enhanced grip surface structures may be provided on both the left sideand right side of the body. At least two concavities may be provided oneach of the left side and right side of the body. In someimplementations of the invention, the projections are integrallyattached to the cellphone body. A first number of concavities may beprovided on the left side, and a second, different number of concavitiesmay be provided on the right side.

At least one concavity has a depth of at least about 2 mm, and a widthof at least about 0.5 inches.

In some implementations, at least one concavity defines an inwardlyextending contour on the rear surface but not on the front surface.Further, in some implementations, the inwardly extending contour extendson the rear surface and on one of the right and left sides, but not onthe front surface.

There is provided in accordance with another aspect of at least one ofthe inventions disclosed herein, a method of manufacturing a cellphonehousing. The method comprises the steps of manufacturing a housinghaving a left side, a right side, and front facing and rear facingsurfaces. At least one of the left side and right side include at leasttwo laterally extending projections defining a concavity therebetween,such that the at least two laterally extending projections defining theconcavity therebetween remain exposed on the lateral sides of thecellphone following final assembly of the cellphone to provide acellphone with enhanced grip surface structures.

The enhanced grip surface structures may be provided on both the leftside and the right side of the body, and may comprise at least twoconcavities on each of the left side and right side of the body.

The projections may be manufactured by a machining process, a moldingprocess, or by stamping, coining, bending, or other deformation process.Alternatively, the projections may be provided as a separate component,and mounted on the housing.

Another aspect of a least one of the inventions disclosed hereinincludes the realization that power requirements for photographiclighting has dropped sufficiently in recent years, due in part to thewidespread availability of small and low-power LED lights, that betterlighting solutions can be applied to personal electronic devices, suchas smartphones or cellphones. For example, those in the art ofrecognized that the low-power photographic lighting solutions, commonlyreferred to as a “camera flash”, typically included on smartphones andcell phones, do not provide photographically optimal lighting for allphotographic applications. For example, the typical, single point oflight type flash device on presently available cellphones can createhigh contrast shadows with sharp edges that can be undesirable for someapplications.

Thus, in accordance with some embodiments, a handheld mobile electronicdevice such as a cellphone can include a photographic lighting device,integrated there with, wherein the photographic lighting device includesat least a plurality of light sources relative to a camera lens of thecell phone. For example, in some embodiments, the lighting device canextend around a periphery of the camera lens. Optionally, in someembodiments, the lighting device can extend around the periphery ofanother portion of the handheld electronic device, adjacent to thecamera lens. The lighting device can be powered directly by the powersource used for powering the handheld electronic device. As such, thecell phone can benefit from enhanced photographic lighting without theneed for additional power supplies for powering the lights.

In accordance with additional aspects, a cellphone with enhanced gripsurface structures comprises a body having a left side, a right side, atop, a bottom, a front surface with a display and a rear surface. Theright side and left side are provided with enhanced grip surfacestructures comprising at least two extensions projecting to the left andat least two extensions projecting to the right defining a left facingconcavity and a right facing concavity. The concavities have a best fitradius of curvature within the range of from about 1.0 to about 2.0inches, and are positioned within the top half of the phone.

At least two concavities can be provided on each of the left and rightsides. The at least two concavities on each of the left and right sidescan be symmetrically spaced along the length of the phone. Theprojections in some implementations are integral parts of the cell phonebody. Smooth outer side walls can be provided along the bottom half ofthe phone. The concavities can have a depth of at least about 0.0625inches. The concavities can have a width of at least about 1.0 inches.

Further features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description of preferred embodiments whichfollows when considered together the attached drawings and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a hand-held cellphone inaccordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic view of a right edge of the cellphone ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic view of a single concavity of acellphone housing in accordance with embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of a handheld cellphone as in FIG. 1,reconfigured with bilateral asymmetry for right hand operation.

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view as in FIG. 4, with electroniccontrols positioned in selected concavities.

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of an alternate handheld cellphone inaccordance with embodiments having gripping surfaces with smallcontours.

FIGS. 7A-7E are schematic views of alternate housing profiles inaccordance with embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating various electronic aspects andfeatures of a device in accordance with embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a hand-held electronic devicesuch as a cellphone 10. Although described herein primarily in thecontext of a cellphone, the inventions herein are applicable to any of avariety of handheld electronic devices with or without cellphonefunctionality, including digital still and motion cameras, personalnavigation devices, mobile internet devices, handheld game consoles, ordevices having any or a combination of the functions discussed inconnection with FIG. 8, below.

The cellphone can include a housing 12, having a top edge 14 and abottom edge 16. Viewing the phone in its normal use orientation,cellphone 10 includes a left side 18, a right side 20 and a display 22.Display 22 displays a variety of applications, functions and informationas is understood in the art. Display 22 may also incorporate touchscreen control features as is understood in the art.

Dimensions of the housing 12 can vary considerably, depending upon themanufacturer and functionality of the phone. For example, the HTC smartphone is approximately 104 mm high by 55 mm wide by 12.8 mm thick. TheSamsung Galaxy S5 is about 142 mm in height, 72.5 mm wide and 8.1 mmthick. The LG G2 is about 138.5 mm high, by 70.9 mm wide by 8.9 mmthick. The Apple iPhone S5 is approximately 123.8 mm high by 58.6 mmwide by 7.6 mm thick. Cell phones incorporating any of the inventionsdisclosed herein may fall within the range of the minimum to maximumrecited above, or above or below that range, as desired. In all of theforegoing commercial products, the left side 18 and right side 20 areessentially perfectly linear. In contrast, at least one of the left side18 and right side 20 of the cellphone in accordance with an aspect of atleast one of the inventions disclosed herein are provided with regular,undulating contoured surfaces to facilitate grip.

The contoured surfaces or edges can comprise interference fit orfriction enhancing surface structures or configurations to facilitategripping the device with reduced chance of slipping and dropping. Theycan be provided in a variety of forms including some discussed below. Ingeneral, the surface structures are preferably permanently attached tothe cell phone housing, as distinct from removable cell phone protectivecases such as are available in the aftermarket. The enhanced grippingsurface can be integrally formed with the housing, such as by machining,injection molding or other operations. The surface may alternatively beapplied at the point of manufacture or assembly, such as by overmolding,adhesively bonding or attaching by any of a variety of techniques suchas with screws or other fasteners, or by soldering, welding, brazing,press fit interference interlocking structures or other attachmenttechnique known in the art. The enhanced gripping surface is preferablynot removable by the user in the course of ordinary intended use, andremoval by the consumer would require destructive acts or would void thewarranty of the device. The contoured surfaces are thus, in someembodiments, preferably a part of the native housing of the cell phoneor other hand held electronic device.

The terms concavity and projection as used herein are convenience termsto refer to deviations from planar in a lateral direction such that alaterally outwardly facing concavity is defined between two projectionsextending laterally in the same direction to define the sides of theconcavity. The terms concavity and projection are thus used in arelative spatial sense and do not convey the manner in which they wereformed unless otherwise specified. In general, a projection to the rightmay be formed by adding material to the native right side surface of asubstrate, or by removing material from the native right side surface ofthe substrate on either side of a region which has now become aprojection, or by indenting a left side of a substrate to form acorresponding right facing projection, or by bending a substrate such asinto a zigzag configuration to produce a plurality of laterally facingprojections and concavities.

The laterally extending structures may thus be projections in aconventional sense formed such as by the addition or attachment ofprojections to a starting surface to build it out, but also include twonative portions of a starting component between which a recess orindentation has been formed thereby resulting in the native surfaceforming a relative projection as a result of the recesses on eitherside. Thus any of a variety of manufacturing techniques may be utilizedto provide the projections and recesses of the non-smooth lateral sidesof the cell phone body in accordance with one or more aspects of theinventions disclosed herein, depending upon the materials and desiredmanufacturing techniques. The projections may be formed by injectionmolding or other molding techniques, particularly in the case of apolymeric housing. Projections may be formed by stamping, coining, orother compression or bending steps to provide an impression on a firstside of a substrate and a corresponding projection on the opposing sideof the substrate. The substrate in this instance may be in the form of astrip (e.g., stainless steel, titanium, aluminum or other metal) ofmaterial that will subsequently be attached to a frame to form thelateral surfaces of the housing. Projections may alternatively be formedby attachment of a separate component to a substrate, such as byadhesively bonding, soldering, brazing, welding or other bondingtechnique, or by mechanical interfit such as interference fit structuresor through the use of fasteners such as screws, rivets or press fitconstructs. Projections (and the corresponding intervening concavities)may alternatively be formed by removal of material from a substrate toform the concavity such as by grinding, milling, EDM, laser etching orother machining or removal technique as will be understood by those ofskill in the art in view of the disclosure herein.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a schematic enlargement of theright side 20 of the cellphone housing 12. The left side may or may notbe a mirror image of the right side. Right side 20 is provided with acontoured wall 24 having at least one concavity 26 positioned between afirst projection 28 and a second projection 30. At least one concavity26, and generally at least about 2, 3, 4, 5 or more may be provided onright side 20. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, four concavities26 are illustrated.

Additional details of a single concavity 26 may be seen in connectionwith FIG. 3. An outer boundary 32 is an imaginary line which contactsthe apex of each of first projection 28 and second projection 30. In anembodiment where the projections comprise curved surfaces, the outerboundary 32 would describe a tangent with respect to the firstprojection 28 and second projection 30. The width 34 of the concavity 26may be measured between the tangent contact point 38 and 40 in theimplementation illustrated in FIG. 3. In an embodiment in which theprojection has a flat surface, such as that illustrated in FIG. 1, thewidth 34 of the concavity will be measured between the points at whichthe wall of the concavity fall away from the outer boundary 32 in thedirection of the center of the concavity.

The concavity may also be considered to have a depth 42, measuredbetween the outer boundary 32 and the deepest point in the concavity 26.

The width 34 of the concavity will generally be at least about 2%, oftenat least about 4% or 6% and in some embodiments as much as 10% or moreof the overall height of the housing 12 measured along the direction ofouter boundary line 32. In some implementations, the width 34 may be atleast about 30%, and in some implementations, at least about 50% of theheight of the housing 12, depending upon the desired performance. Ingeneral, the width 34 of each concavity 26 will be at least about 0.25inches, and often at least about 0.5 inches.

The depth 42 of the concavity 26, measured at its deepest point, willtypically be in excess of about 1 mm, and often at least about 2 mm or 3mm or more. In some embodiments, the depth 42 will be about 4 or 5 mm,or more.

The cellphone housing illustrated in FIG. 1 exhibits bilateral symmetry.However, asymmetrical configurations may be desirable as describedbelow. Referring to FIG. 4, there is illustrated a cellphone housing asin FIG. 1 with a left side 18 and a right side 20. However, the left andright sides exhibit bilateral asymmetry by having fewer concavities 26on the right side than are present on the left side 18. Mirror images ofany of the asymmetrical configurations disclosed herein are alsocontemplated.

In the illustrated embodiment, a single right side concavity 26 isdefined between a first projection 28 and a second projection 30. Thesingle concavity 26 has a width 34 of at least about 30%, and in someimplementations at least about 50%, at least about 75% or 85% or more ofthe overall height of the phone. This configuration might be consideredto be a phone optimized for right hand operation. As is understood inthe art, the anatomy of the hand includes a large rounded mound at thebase of the thumb, known as the thenar eminence. This is the result of agrouping of muscles dominated by the abductor pollicis bruvis. Providinga concavity 26 having a width of at least about 1 inch, and in someembodiments at least about 1½ inches or 2 inches or 2½ inches or more,provides a cradle for the thenar eminence whereas the multiple distinctconcavities 26 on the left side 18 of the housing provide individualcradles for individual fingers. Although the concavity 26 is illustratedin FIG. 4 as bilaterally symmetrical about the mid-point of the heightof the phone housing, the mid-point of the concavity 26 may be offset inan inferior direction, closer to the bottom edge 16 than the top edge14. In this manner, the housing for the cellphone may more closelyconform to the hand of the user, and the form factor of cellphones inaccordance with one or more aspects of at least one of the inventionsdisclosed herein may take the form of a contoured grip that may besecurely grasped by the user.

Referring to FIG. 5, it will be appreciated that embodiments of theconcavities of the cellphone housing can provide a predictable landingpoint for each of the fingers when a user is grasping the cellphone.Thus, finger buttons to control various functions of the phone may belocated within one or more of the concavities 26. Buttons or othercontrols may be provided with an activation force threshold that is highenough that the cellphone may be grasped by the user under normal useconditions without activating the button. However, upon application of agreater compressive force than normally utilized to grasp the phone, theuser can selectively activate the buttons as desired, to control variousfunctions of the telephone.

Thus, referring to FIG. 5, a first concavity 26 may be provided with auser activated control such as a button 50, for activation by the indexfinger. In this instance, the illustrated cellphone is configured foroperation by the user's right hand. A second concavity 26 may beprovided with a second control 52 for activation by the user's middlefinger. Additional buttons (not illustrated) may be provided for theuser's ring finger, and baby finger.

In addition, a concavity 26 on the right side of the phone may beprovided with a button or other control 54 for activation by the user'sthumb. The thumb control 54 may be positioned within a concavity 26defined between a first projection 28 and a second projection 30 thatare less than about 2 inches, and preferable less than about 1 inchapart. A larger concavity 26 is provided as previously described toprovide a cradle for the thenar eminence.

Embodiments of the concavities 26 of relatively short width may begin toappear to have a corrugated or ridged surface, such as illustrated inFIG. 6. In this implementation, there may be at least about 5, at leastabout 10, and in some implementations at least about 15 or moreconcavities 26 per running inch of width along the side walls of thephone. An additional example of housing profile is illustrated in FIG.7A, showing a plurality of concavities having substantially constantradius of curvature.

Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, there is illustrated a hand held devicesuch as a cellular phone having a top edge 14, a bottom edge 16, a leftside 18 and a right side 20. Each of the left side 18 and right side 20are provided with a plurality of substantially uniform concavities orundulations, as will be discussed in greater detail. The illustratedembodiment exhibits bilateral symmetry, with a first left projection 62disposed opposite a first right projection 60. Together, projection 62and projection 60 define an opposing projection pair, oriented on a linewhich is transverse to the longitudinal axis of the phone. Preferably,the first projection pair is located on the top half of the phone, andgenerally will be within the top ⅓ or top 25% of the overall height ofthe phone.

A second right projection 64 may be provided, opposite a second leftprojection 66. Together, right projections 60 and 64 define the limitsof a concavity 26 extending therebetween. Second right projection 64 andsecond left projection 66 together form a second projection pair, whichin turn define a left and right concavity 26 positioned within the tophalf of the phone. Second right projection 64 and second left projection66 may define a line which is transverse to the longitudinal axis of thephone, and which may cross the longitudinal axis of the phone at a pointwithin the range of from about ±30%, in some embodiments within therange of from about ±15%, and, in some embodiments within about ±5% ofthe overall length of the phone from the longitudinal midpoint of thephone.

In the illustrated embodiment, a third right projection 68 is disposedopposite a third left projection 70, to define a second pair ofconcavities 26. A fourth right and fourth left projection, and a fifthright and fifth left projection may be provided depending upon thedesired functionality of the phone.

In the illustrated embodiment, the projection pairs are spacedsymmetrically about the longitudinal centerline of the phone. In anembodiment having a longitudinal length of about 6.25 inches, the secondright projection 64 and second left projection 66 lie on a line whichcrosses the midpoint of the phone at approximately 3.125 inches from thetop edge 14 or lower edge 16. In this embodiment, each concavity 26 hasa substantially constant radius of curvature, which is generally withinthe range of from about 0.5 inches to about 2.5 inches, often within therange of about 1.0 inches to about 2.0 inches, and, in oneimplementation, the radius is within the range of from about 1.3 inchesto about 1.8 inches. The curvature of the surface within each concavity26 may be substantially constant, such that the surface curve conformssubstantially to a portion of a surface of a circle. Alternatively, thecurvature of the concavity 26 may be noncircular, such as a surfacewhich conforms to a portion of a surface of an ellipse or toroid. Asused herein, radius refers to the radius of a constant radius curve, aswell as the radius of a constant radius curve which has the best fitwith the non-constant radius curvature of the concavity 26.

The arc length measured along the surface of the curve of concavity 26from the apex of adjacent projections will generally be within the rangeof from about 0.5 inches to about 2.5 inches, often between about 1.0inches and 2.0 inches, or within about 1.2 inches and about 1.8 inches.

A line 72 illustrates the width of the phone at the upper edge 14 andlower edge 16, measured in parallel to the longitudinal axis of thephone. Line 74 illustrates the outer most width boundary of the phone,drawn along a tangent from apex to apex of adjacent projections.Concavities 26 may thus represent an area of material which has beenremoved from the wall of the phone relative to the area of the best fitrectangle surrounding the perimeter of the phone.

The linear distance between reference line 72 and reference line 74 isgenerally at least about 0.050 inches, often at least about 0.0625inches, and preferably at least about 0.125 inches.

A first plurality of screws or other fasteners 76 may be provided forconnecting front and back plates of the phone together. At least 2 andpreferably at least 4 or 6 fasteners 76 may conveniently be positionedalong the right and left sides 20 and 18 within the projections, thusenabling the fasteners 76 to be carried “off board” so that the width ofthe viewing surface of the phone may be maximized relative to theoverall mass of the phone.

A second set of fasteners 78 may be provided, with two fasteners locatedabove the viewing screen and two fasteners located below the viewingscreen. As such, they may be radially inset towards the midline of thephone without compromising the viewing screen. An upper left speaker 80and upper right speaker 82 may be provided above the viewing screen, aswell as a camera lens 84. A lower left speaker 83 and a lower rightspeaker 86 may be provided, as well as at least one microphone may bepositioned on the phone, such as below the viewing screen.

Referring to FIG. 7D, there is illustrated a perspective view of theembodiment shown in FIG. 7C. In the illustrated embodiment, a frontplate 90 and a rear plate 92 are spaced apart by an intermediate frame94 in a sandwich configuration, to enclose the electronics of the phone.A plurality of fasteners secure the front plate 90 and rear plate 92together, to provide an enclosed electronics chamber.

Preferably, the camera includes a capability for capturing still imageswith various and/or adjustable resolutions and aspect ratios for examplebut without limitation, as high as 6144×3160 pixels or higher withaspect ratios such as 2:1, 2.4:1, 16:9, etc., and a capability forcapturing motion images at resolutions up to about “6K” or higherincluding for example, but without limitation, 6K (2:1, 2.4:1), 5K (FullFrame, 2:1, 2.4:1 and Anamorphic 2:1), 4.5K (2.4:1), 4K (16:9, HD, 2:1and Anamorphic 2:1), 3K (16:9, 2:1 and Anamorphic 2:1), 2K (16:9, 2:1and Anamorphic 2:1), 1080p RGB (16:9), 720p RGB (16:9) and otherresolutions and formats, depending on the size of the image sensor usedin the device 10 and the capacity of the supporting electronics.Additionally, the device 10 can be configured to include a number ofcompression options, including compressed raw mosaic image sensor data,compressed fully rendered video data and uncompressed video data. Anonboard memory preferably comprises a capacity of at least about 64 GB,and, in one implementation, at least about 128 GB. The phone includes aslot or cavity for receiving at least one, and preferably two or moreSIM cards, to enable the phone to receive two or more phone numbers. Twocameras are provided, one facing outwardly from the front of the phoneand one facing outwardly from the rear of the phone.

With continued reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B, the device 10 can includeone or more lights which, optionally, can be used for personal lighting(e.g., flashlight) or photographic purposes. For example, as notedabove, the device 10 can include a camera lens 84. Optionally, thedevice 10 can include a lighting device 200 disposed on the front sideof the device 10, facing the same direction as the lens 84. The lightingdevice 200 can be any type of lighting device, and in some embodiments,is configured for high intensity “flash” output such as that used for“flash photography”. Additionally, in some embodiments, the lightingdevice 200 can also be configured for continuous operation, such as in aflashlight mode for providing lighting as desired by user. Similarly,the lighting device 200 can be configured for continuous operationduring use of the camera lens 84 for recording motion video. In someembodiments, the lighting device 200 can be in the form of one orplurality of LEDs. The design and operation of this type of lightingdevice, including those designs based on LEDs, is well known in the art.

Optionally, as illustrated in FIG. 7A, the lighting device 200 canextend around the periphery of the camera lens 84 youth in connectionwith a first camera 151, described below with reference to FIG. 8. Assuch, the lighting device 200 can provide an effect similar to thatprovided by lighting devices known as “ring lights” or “ring flashes”.In some embodiments, the lighting device 200 can be constructed usingtwo or more light emitting devices, such as LEDs, and an opticaldiffuser such as a transparent material with a frosted surfaceapplication. Further, the lighting device 200 can include light emittingdevices configured to be adjustable as to the color or temperature oflight emitted therefrom. For example, the light emitting devicesincluded within the lighting device 200 can be configured to emitdifferent “temperatures” of white light typically used for photography.Additionally, the lighting device 200 can be configured to emit a largerange of different colors of light, for example, using “RGB” LEDs lightemitting devices. Such LED devices as well as the operation control ofwhich are widely known and commercially available.

In some embodiments, the device 10 can include a lighting device 202. Asshown in the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 7A, the lighting device 202can include a circumferentially extending configuration. For example,the lighting device 202 can extend around the display 22. In a similarfashion or the same fashion as the lighting device 200, the lightingdevice 202 can be constructed with a plurality of light emittingdevices, such as LEDs, which can be white, adjustable within a range oftemperatures of white colors, or a broad range of colors such as “RGB”LED lighting devices. Additionally, the lighting device 202 can beconfigured for control is a “flash” mode for photography, in aflashlight mode, or other modes for continuous or substantiallycontinuous output of light for personal lighting applications such asrecording motion video as desired. Additionally, the device 10 caninclude programming for operating the lighting device 202 for furtherentertainment purposes, such as light changing schemes which may or maynot be synchronized with audio output from the device 10. Such controloptions and techniques are well known in the art.

As an alternative to or in combination with the lighting devices 200,202, the device 10 can also include a lighting device 204. As shown inFIG. 7A, the lighting device 204 can be disposed along the peripheraledge of the device 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the lightingdevice 204 follows along the shape of the outer periphery of the vice 10and that includes or defines part of the concavities 26. Additionally,similarly to the lighting device 202, the lighting device 204 caninclude a plurality of light emitting devices, such as LEDs, coveredwith a translucent cover for diffusing light emitted by the lightimaging devices. In other embodiments, as alternatives to or incombination with any of the lighting devices 200, 202, 204, the device10 can include light imaging devices placed atop one or more of thescrews 76 described above.

With reference to FIG. 7B, the backside of the device 10 can include acamera lens 85, for example, for use in conjunction with a second camera152, described below with reference to FIG. 8. Using a similar oridentical construction as the lighting device 200, the device 10 canalso include a light lighting device 206 disposed partially or entirelyaround a periphery of the lens 85. Further, as an alternative to or incombination with the lighting device 206, the device 10 can include alighting device 208 extending around a periphery of the backside of thedevice 10. The lighting device 208 can be constructed in a similar oridentical fashion to the lighting devices 200, 202, or two of four notedabove.

By providing a lighting device with a more diffused light emissioncharacteristics, such as that resulting from the ring-shaped lightingdevices 200, 206 or the more rectangular lighting devices 202, 204, 208or even the use of a plurality of lighting devices disposed at aplurality of points relative to a camera lens, such as the camera lens84, 85, different lighting aesthetics can be achieved. In somephotographic techniques, the use of more diffused lighting can provideenhanced and or more desirable results, for example, by generatingshadows with softer edges, and/or other effects.

With reference to FIG. 7E, in some embodiments, the device 10 caninclude concavities 27 which do not extend onto the front side of thedevice 10. For example, FIG. 7E illustrates an alternative embodiment inwhich the concavities 26 are in the form of concavities 27 defined inthe back surface of the device 10 as well as one or both of the sides18, 20. FIG. 7E illustrates a plurality of concavities 27 which aredefined partly on the backside of the device 10 and on the left side 18.However, an edge 29 between the left side 18 in the front side of thedevice 10 extends along a generally straight line. That is because, inthe illustrated embodiment, the concavities 27 do not extend beyond theedge 29 or onto the front side of the device 10. Thus, the embodiment ofthe device 10 illustrated in FIG. 7E, would appear to be rectangular ina top plan view, in other words, the concavities 27 would generally notbe visible in a top plan view of the front side (the view correspondingto FIG. 7A).

In some embodiments, the concavities 27 can have a maximum depth 31 ofapproximately 75% of the thickness of the device 10, however, otherdepths can also be used. Additionally, the concavities 27 can have alength 33 smaller than the magnitude of the depth 31, approximately thesame magnitude as the depth 31, or up to 2 to 3 times the magnitude ofthe depth 31. However, other configurations of the concavities 27 canalso be used. In the context of the embodiment of FIG. 7E, the raisedareas adjacent to the concavities 27 can be considered as formingprojections 35 on the left side 18, defining the concavities 27therebetween.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating various additional electronicaspects and features of a device according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The housing of the embodiments described above maybe utilized with electronic devices having any of a variety of features,and the following is illustrative only and not limiting on the presentinventions. Additional details of potential electronic aspects can befound, for example, in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014/0055394,published Feb. 27, 2014, the contents of which are incorporated byreference in their entirety herein.

Referring to FIG. 8, an electronic device 100 such as a cellphone inaccordance with an embodiment may be connected to an external device byusing an external connection device, such as a sub-communication module130, a connector 165, and an earphone connecting jack 167. The “externaldevice” may include a variety of devices, such as earphones, externalspeakers, Universal Serial Bus (USB) memories, chargers, cradles/docks,Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) antennas, electronic paymentrelated devices, health care devices (e.g., blood sugar testers), gameconsoles, vehicle navigations, and the like, which are removable fromthe electronic device and connected thereto via a cable. The “externaldevice” may also include a short range communication device that may bewirelessly connected to the electronic device 100 via short rangecommunication, such as BLUETOOTH, a short range wireless communicationstechnology at the 2.4 GHz band, commercially available from theBLUETOOTH SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP, INC., a Near Field Communication(NFC), and the like, and a communication device using WI-FI DIRECT, awireless technology for data exchange over a computer network,commercially available from the WI-FI ALLIANCE, a wireless Access Point(AP), and the like. Furthermore, the external device may include anyother device, such as a cell phone, a smartphone, a tablet PC, a desktopPC, a server, and the like.

Referring to FIG. 8, the electronic device 100 includes a display unit190 and a display controller 195. The electronic device 100 alsoincludes a controller 110, a mobile communication module 120, thesub-communication module 130, a multimedia module 140, a camera module150, a Global Positioning System (GPS) module 155, an input/outputmodule 160, a sensor module 170, a storage 175, and a power supply 180.The sub-communication module 130 includes at least one of Wireless LocalArea Network (WLAN) 131 and a short-range communication module 132, andthe multimedia module 140 includes at least one of a broadcastcommunication module 141, an audio play module 142, and a video playmodule 143. The camera module 150 includes at least one of a firstcamera 151, a second camera 152, a third camera 153 and the input/outputmodule 160 includes at least one of buttons 161, a microphone 162, aspeaker 163, a vibration motor 164, the connector 165, and a keypad 166.In some embodiments, the second and third cameras 152, 153 can both bedisposed on the backside of the device 10, so to accommodate varioustypes of photographic tools, including 3-D still photography or motionvideo, as well as other types of effects. Additionally, the electronicdevice 100 can include one or more lights, for example, the lights 200,202, 204 described above are schematically illustrated as a “firstlight”. Additionally, the lighting devices 206, 208 are schematicallyillustrated as a “second light”.

The controller 110 may include a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 111, aRead Only Memory (ROM) 112 for storing a control program, such as anOperating System (OS), to control the electronic device 100, and aRandom Access Memory (RAM) 113 for storing signals or data input from anexternal source or for being used as a memory space for working resultsin the electronic device 100. The CPU 111 may include a single core,dual cores, triple cores, or quad cores. The CPU 111, ROM 112, and RAM113 may be connected to each other via an internal bus.

The controller 110 may control the mobile communication module 120, thesub-communication module 130, the multimedia module 140, the cameramodule 150, the GPS module 155, the input/output module 160, the sensormodule 170, the storage 175, the power supply 180, the display unit 190,and the display controller 195.

The mobile communication module 120 connects the electronic device 100to an external device through mobile communication using at least aone-to-one antenna or a one-to-many antenna under the control of thecontroller 110. The mobile communication module 120 transmits/receiveswireless signals for voice calls, video conference calls, Short MessageService (SMS) messages, or Multimedia Message Service (MMS) messagesto/from a cell phone, a smartphone, a tablet PC, or another device, withthe phones having phone numbers entered into the electronic device 100.

The sub-communication module 130 may include at least one of the WLANmodule 131 and the short-range communication module 132. For example,the sub-communication module 130 may include either the WLAN module 131or the-short range communication module 132, or both.

The WLAN module 131 may be connected to the Internet in a place wherethere is a wireless Access Point (AP), under the control of thecontroller 110. The WLAN module 131 supports the WLAN Institute ofElectrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11x standard. Theshort-range communication module 132 may conduct short-rangecommunication between the electronic device 100 and an image renderingdevice under the control of the controller 110. The short-rangecommunication may include communications compatible with BLUETOOTH, ashort range wireless communications technology at the 2.4 GHz band,commercially available from the BLUETOOTH SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP, INC.,Infrared Data Association (IrDA), WI-FI DIRECT, a wireless technologyfor data exchange over a computer network, commercially available fromthe WI-FI ALLIANCE, NFC, and the like.

The electronic device 100 may include at least one of the mobilecommunication module 120, the WLAN module 131, and the short-rangecommunication module 132 based on the performance requirements of theelectronic device 100. For example, the electronic device 100 mayinclude a combination of the mobile communication module 120, the WLANmodule 131, and the short-range communication module 132 based on theperformance requirements of the electronic device 100.

The multimedia module 140 may include the broadcast communication module141, the audio play module 142, or the video play module 143. Thebroadcast communication module 141 may receive broadcast signals (e.g.,television broadcast signals, radio broadcast signals, or data broadcastsignals) and additional broadcast information (e.g., an Electric ProgramGuide (EPG) or an Electric Service Guide (ESG)) transmitted from abroadcasting station through a broadcast communication antenna under thecontrol of the controller 110. The audio play module 142 may playdigital audio files (e.g., files having extensions, such as mp3, wma,ogg, or way) stored or received under the control of the controller 110.The video play module 143 may play digital video files (e.g., fileshaving extensions, such as mpeg, mpg, mp4, avi, move, or mkv) stored orreceived under the control of the controller 110. The video play module143 may also play digital audio files.

The multimedia module 140 may include the audio play module 142 and thevideo play module 143 except for the broadcast communication module 141.The audio play module 142 or video play module 143 of the multimediamodule 140 may be included in the controller 110.

The camera module 150 may include at least one of the first camera 151and the second camera 152 for capturing still images or video imagesunder the control of the controller 110. Furthermore, the first orsecond camera 151 or 152, respectively, may include an auxiliary lightsource (e.g., a flash) for providing an amount of light for capturing animage. The first camera 151 may be placed on the front of the electronicdevice 100 and the second camera 152 may be placed on the back ofelectronic device 100. Alternatively, the first and second cameras 151and 152, respectively, are arranged adjacent to each other (e.g., thedistance between the first and second cameras 151 and 152, respectively,may be in the range of 1 cm. to 8 cm.), capturing 3 Dimensional (3D)still images or 3D video images.

The GPS module 155 receives radio signals from a plurality of GPSsatellites in orbit around the Earth, and may calculate the position ofthe electronic device 100 by using time of arrival from the GPSsatellites to the electronic device 100.

The input/output module 160 may include at least one of the plurality ofbuttons 161, the microphone 162, the speaker 163, the vibrating motor164, the connector 165, and the keypad 166.

The at least one of the buttons 161 may be arranged on the front, sideor back of the housing of the electronic device 100, and may include atleast one of a power/lock button, a volume button, a menu button, a homebutton, a back button, and a search button.

The microphone 162 generates electric signals by receiving voice orsound under the control of the controller 110.

The speaker 163 may output sounds externally corresponding to varioussignals (e.g., radio signals, broadcast signals, digital audio files,digital video files or photography signals) from the mobilecommunication module 120, sub-communication module 130, multimediamodule 140, or camera module 150 under the control of the controller110. The speaker 163 may output sounds (e.g., button-press sounds orringback tones) that correspond to functions performed by the electronicdevice 100. There may be one or multiple speakers 163 arranged in atleast one position on or in the housing of the electronic device 100.

The vibrating motor 164 may convert an electric signal to a mechanicalvibration under the control of the controller 110. For example, theelectronic device 100 in a vibrating mode operates the vibrating motor164 when receiving a voice call from another device. There may be atleast one vibration motor 164 inside the housing of the electronicdevice 100. The vibration motor 164 may operate in response to a touchactivity or continuous touches of a user over the display unit 190.

The connector 165 may be used as an interface for connecting theelectronic device 100 to the external device or a power source. Underthe control of the controller 110, the electronic device 100 maytransmit data stored in the storage 175 of the electronic device 100 tothe external device via a cable connected to the connector 165, orreceive data from the external device. Furthermore, the electronicdevice 100 may be powered by the power source via a cable connected tothe connector 165 or may charge the battery using the power source.

The keypad 166 may receive key inputs from the user to control theelectronic device 100. The keypad 166 includes a mechanical keypadformed in the electronic device 100, or a virtual keypad displayed onthe display unit 190. The mechanical keypad formed in the electronicdevice 100 may optionally be omitted from the implementation of theelectronic device 100, depending on the performance requirements orstructure of the electronic device 100.

An earphone may be inserted into the earphone connecting jack 167 andthus, may be connected to the electronic device 100.

A stylus pen 168 may be inserted and removably retained in theelectronic device 100, and may be drawn out and detached from theelectronic device 100.

A pen-removable recognition switch 169 that operates in response toattachment and detachment of the stylus pen 168 is equipped in an areainside the electronic device 100 where the stylus pen 168 is removablyretained, and sends a signal that corresponds to the attachment or thedetachment of the stylus pen 168 to the controller 100. Thepen-removable recognition switch 169 may have a direct or indirectcontact with the stylus pen 168 when the stylus pen 168 is inserted intothe area. The pen-removable recognition switch 169 generates the signalthat corresponds to the attachment or detachment of the stylus pen 168based on the direct or indirect contact and provides the signal to thecontroller 110.

The sensor module 170 includes at least one sensor for detecting astatus of the electronic device 100. For example, the sensor module 170may include a proximity sensor for detecting proximity of a user to theelectronic device 100, an illumination sensor for detecting an amount ofambient light of the electronic device 100, a motion sensor fordetecting the motion of the electronic device 100 (e.g., rotation of theelectronic device 100, acceleration or vibration applied to theelectronic device 100), a geomagnetic sensor for detecting a point ofthe compass using the geomagnetic field, a gravity sensor for detectinga direction of gravity, and an altimeter for detecting an altitude bymeasuring atmospheric pressure. At least one sensor may detect thestatus and generate a corresponding signal to transmit to the controller110. The sensor of the sensor module 170 may be added or removeddepending on the performance requirements of the electronic device 100of the electronic device 100.

The storage 175 may store signals or data input/output according tooperations of the mobile communication module 120, the sub-communicationmodule 130, the multimedia module 140, the camera module 150, the GPSmodule, the input/output module 160, the sensor module 170, the displayunit 190 under the control of the controller 110. The storage 175 maystore the control programs and applications for controlling theelectronic device 100 or the controller 110.

The term “storage” refers to the storage 175, and also to the ROM 112,RAM 113 in the controller 110, or a memory card (e.g., a Secure Digital(SD) card, a memory stick, and the like) installed in the electronicdevice 100. The storage may also include a non-volatile memory, avolatile memory, a Hard Disc Drive (HDD), a Solid State Drive (SSD), orthe like.

The power supply 180 may supply power to at least one battery placedinside the housing of the electronic device 100 under the control of thecontroller 110. The at least one battery powers the electronic device100. The power supply 180 may supply the electronic device 100 with thepower input from the external power source via a cable connected to theconnector 165. The power supply 180 may also supply the electronicdevice 100 with wireless power from an external power source using awireless charging technology.

The display controller 195 receives information (e.g., information to begenerated for making calls, data transmission, broadcast, orphotography) that is processed by the controller 110, converts theinformation to data to be displayed on the display unit 190, andprovides the data to the display unit 190. The display unit 190 displaysthe data received from the display controller 195. For example, in acall mode, the display unit 190 may display a User Interface (UI) or aGraphic User Interface (GUI) with respect to a call. The display unit190 may include at least one of liquid crystal displays, thin filmtransistor-liquid crystal displays, organic light-emitting diodes,flexible displays, 3D displays, electrophoretic displays, and the like.

The display unit 190 may be used as an output device and also as aninput device, and for the latter case, may have a touchscreen panel tooperate as a touch screen. The display unit 190 may send to the displaycontroller 195 an analog signal that corresponds to at least one touchto the UI or GUI. The display unit 190 may detect the at least one touchby a user's physical contact (e.g., by fingers including a thumb) or bya touchable input device (e.g., the stylus pen). The display unit 190may also receive a dragging movement of a touch among at least one touchand transmit an analog signal that corresponds to the dragging movementto the display controller 195. The display unit 190 may be implementedto detect at least one touch in, for example, a resistive method, acapacitive method, an infrared method, an acoustic wave method, or thelike.

The term ‘touches’ are not limited to physical touches by a physicalcontact of the user or contacts with the touchable input device, but mayalso include touchless proximity (e.g., maintaining a detectabledistance less than 1 mm. between the display unit 190 and the user'sbody or touchable input device). The detectable distance from thedisplay unit 190 may vary depending on the performance requirements ofthe electronic device 100 or structure of the electronic device 100, andmore particularly, the display unit 190 may output different values(e.g., current values) for touch detection and hovering detection todistinguishably detect that a touch event occurred by a contact with theuser's body or the touchable input device and a contactless input (e.g.,a hovering event). Furthermore, the display unit 190 may outputdifferent values (e.g., current values) for hovering detection overdistance from where the hovering event occurs.

The display controller 195 converts the analog signal received from thedisplay unit 190 to a digital signal (e.g., in XY coordinates on thetouch panel or display screen) and transmits the digital signal to thecontroller 110. The controller 110 may control the display unit 190 byusing the digital signal received from the display controller 195. Forexample, in response to the touch event or the hovering event, thecontroller 110 may enable a shortcut icon displayed on the display unit190 to be selected or to be executed. The display controller 195 mayalso be incorporated in the controller 110.

Further, the display controller 195 may determine the distance betweenwhere the hovering event occurs and the display unit 190 by detecting avalue (e.g., a current value) output through the display unit 190,convert the determined distance to a digital signal (e.g., with a Zcoordinate), and provide the digital signal to the controller 110.

Furthermore, depending on implementations, the electronic device 100 mayhave two or more display units.

The display unit 190 may include at least two touchscreen panels fordetecting touches or proximity thereto by the user's body or thetouchable input device to receive both inputs by the user's body or thetouchable input device simultaneously. The at least two touchscreenpanels provide different output values to the display controller 195,and the display controller 195 may differentiate inputs by the user'sbody and inputs by the touchable input device through the touchscreen bydifferently recognizing the values input from the at least twotouchscreen panels.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cellphone with enhanced grip surfacestructures, the cellphone comprising: a body having a front surface witha display, a rear surface, a first side provided with enhanced gripsurface structures that comprise at least three extensions projectingfrom the first side that define at least first and second concavities ofthe first side, and a second side, the body further having a top halfabove a bottom half; wherein at least the first concavity of the firstside is positioned within the top half of the body; wherein at least thesecond concavity of the first side is positioned within the bottom halfof the body; and wherein the first and second concavities of the firstside are at least about 0.5 inches wide and have a substantiallycontinuous radius of curvature with a range of about 0.5 inches to about2.0 inches.
 2. The cellphone with enhanced grip surface structures ofclaim 1 wherein the second side of the body is provided with theenhanced grip surface structures that further comprise at least threeextensions projecting from the second side that define at least firstand second concavities of the second side.
 3. The cellphone withenhanced grip surface structures of claim 2 wherein at least the firstconcavity of the first side and the first concavity of the second sidedefine a first pair of concavities positioned within the top half of thebody, and at least the second concavity of the first side and the secondconcavity of the second side define a second pair of concavitiespositioned within the bottom half of the body.
 4. The cellphone withenhanced grip surface structures of claim 2 wherein the first and secondconcavities of the second side are at least about 0.5 inches wide andhave a substantially continuous radius of curvature with a range ofabout 0.5 inches to about 2.0 inches.
 5. The cellphone with enhancedgrip surface structures of claim 1 wherein the at least three extensionsprojecting from the first side are integrally attached to the body. 6.The cellphone with enhanced grip surface structures of claim 1 whereinthe body has an intermediate frame positioned between the front surfaceand the rear surface.
 7. The cellphone with enhanced grip surfacestructures of claim 1 wherein the first and second concavities of thefirst side are symmetrically spaced along a length of the cellphone. 8.The cellphone with enhanced grip surface structures of claim 2 wherein anumber of concavities of the first side is different from a number ofconcavities of the second side.
 9. The cellphone with enhanced gripsurface structures of claim 1 wherein the display comprises a touchscreen display.
 10. A cellphone comprising: a touch screen display;electronics connected to the touch screen display; a housing enclosingthe electronics and connected to the touch screen display, the housingcomprising a first side and a second side; wherein the first side of thehousing includes at least two exposed projections defining at least oneconcavity of the first side therebetween, the at least one concavity ofthe first side is at least about 0.5 inches wide, and the at least oneconcavity of the first side provides at least one enhanced grip surfacestructure for the housing.
 11. The cellphone of claim 10 wherein thesecond side of the housing includes at least two exposed projectionsdefining at least one concavity of the second side therebetween.
 12. Thecellphone of claim 11 wherein the at least one concavity of the secondside is at least about 0.5 inches wide, and the at least one concavitiesof the first and second sides provide the enhanced grip surfacestructures for the housing.
 13. The cellphone of claim 10 furthercomprising a camera located within the housing, the housing furthercomprising a front surface and a rear surface, the camera including acamera lens exposed on the front surface or the rear surface.
 14. Thecellphone of claim 11 wherein at least one concavity selected from thegroup consisting of the at least one concavity of the first side and theat least one concavity of the second side has a maximum depth ofapproximately 75% of a thickness of the cellphone.
 15. The cellphone ofclaim 11 wherein the at least one concavities of the first and secondsides have a depth greater than about 1 mm.
 16. The cellphone of claim11 wherein the at least one concavities of the first and second sideshave a substantially continuous radius of curvature.
 17. The cellphoneof claim 16 wherein the substantially continuous radius of curvature hasa range of about 0.5 inches to about 2.0 inches.
 18. The cellphone ofclaim 10 wherein the touch screen display defines a front facing surfaceof the cellphone.
 19. A housing for a cellphone having a touch screendisplay, the housing comprising: at least first, second, third, fourthand fifth projections defining first, second, third, and fourthconcavities; wherein each of the first, second, third, and fourthconcavities has a substantially continuous radius of curvature with arange of about 0.5 inches to about 2.0 inches; and wherein the first andsecond concavities are disposed on an upper half of a body of thecellphone and the third and fourth concavities are disposed on a lowerhalf of the body of the cellphone.
 20. The housing of claim 19 whereineach of the first, second, third, and fourth concavities has a depthgreater than about 1 mm.
 21. The housing of claim 19 wherein each of thefirst, second, third, and fourth concavities has a maximum depth ofapproximately 75% of a thickness of the cellphone.
 22. The housing ofclaim 19 wherein each of the first, second, third, and fourthconcavities are at least about 0.5 inches wide.
 23. The housing of claim19 wherein the first and second concavities are symmetrically spaced onthe upper half of the body of the cellphone.
 24. The housing of claim 19wherein the first and second concavities are asymmetrically spaced onthe upper half of the body of the cellphone.
 25. The housing of claim 19wherein the first and second concavities are symmetrically spaced on theupper half of the body of the cellphone and the third and fourthconcavities are asymmetrically spaced on the lower half of the body ofthe cellphone.